If half the band is daydreaming about getting a hit song recorded so they can be picked up by a label and shot off into stardom, while the other half is morally against molding themselves to fit the pop market just for success there is going to be a problem. The dangerous part about this problem is that it’s so easy to avoid in the early days of the bands growth. Without being confronted early on, this problem will wait patiently in the shadows until that day when your band is writing a $2,000 check for a demo and half the band wants to record their crowd favorite pop hit while the other half wants to do the experimental 7 minute epic rock symphony. All of a sudden the band is ripped in half and your all pissed off at each other and having to recap where you went wrong in the past 15 months of rehearsing.

If the band had sat down before they even played a note and asked each other, “do you want to be a rockstar?” They could have avoided this problem 15 months in advance. In the end maybe the band would have never got off the ground because these issues were too big of a problem. But avoiding this problem until it can’t be avoided any longer will leave you angry frustrated and confused about why your band is falling apart when you were so close to getting what you wanted.

Often with any band the issues that have to be brought out in the open are the ones that are the most uncomfortable to talk about. So if you really feel uncomfortable about sitting down to talk to your lead guitar player about his heavy metal tone not working with your soft rock sound, thats probably the issue that should be your top priority. We often avoid the things that need to be done because we’re afraid of how we might feel when we are doing them. Don’t invent things to work on to avoid facing the real issues that will end up making your band that much stronger. One common procrastination to look out for is: “It’s all about the music”. This mentality is too idealistic. It is conveniently used to avoid interpersonal issues that are brewing under the surface of your group, and asking band members to forego all other issues “for the good of the music”.

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Have you noticed the atmosphere of the crowd while you see a famous band perform? The crowd is right up against the stage during sound check, even before the band takes the stage! THAT is what you need to happen at every show you play. When people that don’t know who you are, or haven’t seen you play live, notice a crowd bunched right up against the stage while you sound check, they will be more interested in watching your show. The impression that this makes on the crowd is HUGE, and opens them up to not only staying and paying attention to your set, but also introduces you in their minds as something worth seeing.

The people that your band members met out in the crowd before you went onstage (you did introduce yourself to everyone and get them on your Mailing List right?), will be even more impressed by you as an artist when they see you already have a significant following. Even if you only draw 15-30 people, having those people up at the front of the stage looks good. Just let your fans know at the show that you really need them right up in front of the stage from sound check to the last song to get the rest of the crowd interested–they will gladly do it once they find out how much it will help you out.

Also, right before you play, or during the intro of your first song, invite the crowd to take 10 steps forward and come up toward the stage. Most of the time this will get the crowd up and bunched in with your current fans. If the floor is empty, it’s hard to get people to come up toward the stage–but if your fans are already at the front of the stage people are more willing to take a few steps forward. You can also offer a FREE CD giveaway and explain that everyone needs to come up toward the stage for when that happens. Or you can just explain you can’t see everyone way back there and they need to come up so that you can see them. See what works best at getting the people to step up more toward the stage. You need to make the audience feel like a part of your live show–and it’s hard to do that when most of the crowd is toward the back of the room and not near the stage. Speak with confidence and speak clearly, and this simple act will yield a much better live show since more people will be on the floor instead of at the back of the room! This all starts by having your fans at the front of the stage from your sound check to your last song. So, start making sure that you have a crowd at the front of the stage every time you play!